St Benedict's Catholic School Shaw eNewsletter

Reconciliation Week

As we conclude Reconciliation Week and with Mabo Day tomorrow, a session we had at our Principals Meeting this week, couldn’t be more poignant for catholic education and for our wider community as a whole. We are seeing so many things in the media regarding the upcoming referendum on First Nations Peoples’ Voice to Parliament and there have been many important changes in the latest Australian Curriculum Update regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures that just make me question how much we really know and understand about our own country. We are such a diverse country with many cultures and after my recent long service leave where I was able to travel to Europe and experience the vast richness of so much history and culture, it has left me wanting to know and experience more about the world in general but particularly about my own amazing country. As we navigated some of the changes in the Australian Curriculum at the Principals meeting, we touched on a deeper, broader learning experience for our students which is very exciting. Regardless of how we each intend to vote in the upcoming referendum, this will be another point in time that will be marked in our history. I encourage you to listen to the Uluru Statement from the Heart read by Megan Davis and I hope it helps you ask some questions as it has done for me. I do believe we have shared another version of this previously

Uluru Statement to the Heart

School Board

It was such a pleasure to meet with our School Board again this week. This is a particular part of my role that I enjoy immensely and the group of parents and staff we have in this group are very passionate and committed to supporting me in my role to help St Benedict’s be the best school we can. The board’s role tends to deal with the ‘big picture’ parts of developing our school community and they have provided significant leadership support with creating our Mission, Vision and Values along with all school based policies. We also engage in faith formation as a group to ensure we have the foundations required to contribute holistically to the School Board deliberations. We are looking for at least one new member to join the School Board and invite you to send a written Expression of Interest to me detailing why you would be interested and what or how you think you could contribute to discussions. Please note that our School Board has a model of discernment and does not follow a governance model. I would also be happy to answer questions you may have about potentially joining the board.

School Reports

Our teachers have been busily collating student assessment results from across the semester and are collaborating to make professional judgements in assigning grades of achievement for student reports. This is a very busy time for teachers and I am so proud of their professionalism and care as they approach and prepare for this formal reporting period.

Next week, our Year 5 students are heading off to camp and I know that many of them, including their teachers, are very excited about this opportunity. School camps are such a great experience for many students and something we remember with fondness for many years. I am so very grateful, we continue to have teachers and school officers willing to give their personal time to provide these opportunities. I hope everyone has a fabulous time.

Best wishes to everyone for a fabulous week. I’m looking forward to my first full week back at school next week.

Cheers

Penny

P.S Thanks to Janeen for waiting so patiently for my late article for the newsletter- time away from school can be very tricky :)

Welcome to the end of Week 7! Our 3 Brolgas led us on assembly this morning on the theme of Laudato Si Week. During their prayer, they asked God to help us to see the beauty of creation in the wonderful natural world we have around us. They also prayed that we might use our ears to listen to those in need, use our voices to speak for justice, use our hands to care for the earth and to use our feet to take God’s message out to the world.

Laudato Si, an encyclical written by Pope Francis on the Care for Our Common Home, has been such an important document that we’ve considered many times when developing our school culture. Its call to the people of the earth to care for our common home, our earth, has been integral in our planning of eProjects and many other sustainable initiatives that we’ve undertaken as a school. We don’t undertake these practices simply because “being green is cool”, we do these because our faith has called us to care for God’s creation, our common home, the earth.

Athletics Carnival

Students are encouraged to wear their house colours on the day.

ALL Students are able to participate in a Sprint, as well as field events and novelty games.

A schedule of events will be released closer to the carnival. There will be 'pre-events' prior to the carnival for age levels able to attend the Interschool Carnival. Parents are able to take students home early from the carnival, but will need to ensure they sign them out with a member of the office staff.

Benny’s Got Talent

It’s time for our students to start warming up their vocal chords, auditions for ‘Benny’s Got Talent’ will be taking place in Week 10 of this term. Teachers will communicate this further with how this will happen in their classes, with ‘pre-auditions’. I look forward to seeing the wonderful talents that our students possess!

Pax,

Nick

Parish_term2wk7.pdf

Home Reading

Reading is a fundamental part of life and learning, and giving your child the chance to read at home–or to be read to–is invaluable.Your enthusiasm and excitement when your child brings home a new book from the library can help to create a lifelong reading habit. Not to mention, remember to help your child keep track of their library books–they've got to come back each week, unless they're still reading the same book. By fostering a reading-friendly environment at home, you can help to ensure your child’s educational success!

Home Reading Books

Prep to Year 3 students take home targeted home reading books chosen by their teacher. For the lower years, each book will have a sticker that says either "I'll read to you" or "You read to me", to indicate its intended purpose.

If the sticker says "I'll read to you", then it is intended for your child to decode the words, as they will be tailored to their understanding.
If the sticker says “You read to me,” or it doesn’t have a sticker, then its intended purpose is for you to read to your child. Some children may like to give it a go if they are capable and comfortable but please do not pressure them to do so. It is not the purpose and your child may not have learnt the phonemes (sounds) for particular graphemes (letter choices) within the book. If students are finding books too easy, then praise them and encourage them to focus on their fluency.

Home Reading Logs

Are you helping your child complete their reading log every night? If so, did you know that you can find certificates for every level completed, as well as helpful tips and advice when you need it? Don't forget to keep reading and earning rewards!

Yours in Learning,

Aleesha Rockemer

Learning and Teaching Adviser

In this edition of SchoolTV - SLEEP

Students today have extremely busy schedules, with ever increasing responsibilities at school and at home. Many kids, especially adolescents, are going to bed later and later and are at risk of sleep deprivation. This affects three areas of a child’s development: psychological, physiological and psychosocial. All three are essential to a child's growth, learning ability and overall wellbeing. Sleep is vital to a child’s overall development and is as important as diet and exercise.

Sleep also strengthens a child’s immune systems and supports their ability to function properly on a daily basis. Children who do not get enough sleep show increased levels of aggressive behaviour, are less attentive and are much less active. Trying to catch up on sleep on weekends is not the answer and can still lead to severe sleep deprivation.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn about the importance of sleep and how sleep deprivation can have adverse effects on a child’s health and wellbeing.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Sleep edition of SchoolTV
https://stbenedicts.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/sleep